External Assets And Prosocial Behavior Of Adolescents:the Serial Mediating Role Of Internal Assets And Intentional Self-Regulation

Prosocial behavior is not only a manifestation of adolescent socialization,but also one of the results of adolescent positive development.Exploring the factors influencing adolescents’ prosocial behavior has important theoretical and practical implications.Prosocial behavior has been shown to have a significant positive impact on all aspects of adolescents’ lives,while promoting prosocial behavior can promote social unity and harmony.Developmental Assets is an important theory of Positive Youth Development.Lots of studies have demonstrated that developmental assets are important factors which can promote adolescents’ positive developmental outcomes.The developmental assets are divided into external assets and internal assets.External assets are environments that promote positive youth development,while internal assets are the values,competency traits,and skills that individuals have that guide their behavior.Empirical studies have demonstrated that external assets can promote prosocial behavior in adolescents.However,most studies have only explored the effects of individual external assets on prosocial behavior.The present research aims to explore the roles of internal assets and intentional self-regulation in the relationship between external assets and prosocial behavior through two studies.A longitudinal study can provide a more comprehensive examination,and the exploration of mediating mechanisms can help deepen the understanding of the developmental changes between external assets and adolescents’ prosocial behaviors.Study 1 was a cross-sectional study to explore the relationship between external assets and prosocial behavior of adolescents,as well as examining the mediating role of internal assets.376 junior high school students(177 in 7th grade,199 in 8th grade;13.02±0.78 years old;246 males and 130 females)from Guizhou Province were recruited.The results showed that:(1)External assets were positively associated with prosocial behaviors(Public,Anonymous,Altruism,Compliant,Emotional,Dire).(2)Internal assets mediate between external assets and prosocial behavior.Study 2 was a longitudinal study with two time-point data to explore the influence of external assets on prosocial behavior with external assets as a whole as the independent variable and the six dimensions of prosocial behavior as the dependent variable respectively.This study also examined the serial mediation of internal assets and intentional self-regulation.1020 students(150 in 7th grade,227 in 8th grade,335 in 10 th grade,308 in 11 th grade;14.47±1.50 years old;455 males and 565 females)from two middle schools in Shaanxi and Anhui Province were recruited.The measurement instruments were Developmental Assets Profile,Intentional Self-Regulation Scale,and Prosocial Tendencies Measure.The results showed that:(1)There was a significant positive correlation between external assets,internal assets,intentional self-regulation,and prosocial behavior of adolescents.(2)External assets were positively associated with later prosocial behavior through increased internal assets.(3)The mediating effect of intentional self-regulation between external assets and later prosocial behavior was not significant.(4)Internal assets and intentional self-regulation played serial mediating roles between external assets and prosocial behavior.The results of this study shed light on how external assets are related to prosocial behaviors during adolescence,and have implications for guiding the development of prosocial behavior in adolescents.